Ruby-115
by jws381
Summary: Ruby-115 and Spartan Red Team are among humanity's last hopes as the Covenant continues its inexorable march of destruction. Will this elite team of super-soldiers and their comrades be enough to save Earth? *I consider this story experimental. I will decide whether or not to continue based on the reception.*
1. Prologue

Prologue

"I've got a visual on the convoy." Ruby, Spartan 115 and leader of Red Team, radioed to the others. She watched through the scope of her sniper rifle as the trucks wound their way down the narrow road. The convoy belonged to the Insurrectionists, and it was full of weapons that would be used to kill good UNSC soldiers. It was Red Team's mission to see to it that the convoy never reached its destination.

The rest of Red Team was hidden amongst the trees and brush that lined the road, strategically positioned beside a sharp turn where the convoy would be forced to slow to a crawl. "The mines are set and ready to blow." Yang, Spartan 069, reported. Yang was Red Team's close-combat and demolitions specialist. She was also Ruby's sister. Or step-sister. Or half-sister. After all the years they had been away from their family, it was hard to remember exactly which. Yang hid near the road, waiting for the convoy to enter the snare, her finger on the detonator.

The first truck rolled over the mines and Yang hit the button. A thunderous explosion sent the six ton truck cartwheeling through the air as the ammunition carried inside created sympathetic explosions that blew it apart. The second truck slid into the ditch created by the explosion of the mines and slammed to a halt. Before the rear truck could back out of the trap, Ruby sniped the driver, putting a bullet through his forehead. She followed up by hitting his passenger with an equally accurate shot right between the eyes. The driver's corpse leaned on the throttle and sent the truck slamming into the one in front of it. The trucks turned sideways, completely blocking the road.

DMR fire raked the convoy as Weiss, Spartan 033, opened up from her position in the middle of the action. The drivers got out and tried to flee but she easily cut them down. One of the trucks was a troop-carrier, and soon a dozen Insurrectionist soldiers piled out to face their attackers. Weiss slid her rifle onto her back and grabbed her magnum, quickly downing five of them with perfect headshots. From the other side of the road, a figure cloaked in active camouflage darted into the group of Insurrectionists. With terrifying swiftness and violence of action, Blake, Spartan 009, slit the throats of two unlucky men. She threw her knife into the chest of a third before eliminating the remaining four with her own magnum.

All was eerily quiet. The only sound was the crackling of the still burning lead truck. "We're all clear." Yang radioed.

"No reinforcements sighted." Ruby added.

Yang planted explosives on the remaining trucks, detonating them as Red Team boarded its Pelican for exfiltration. The peace of the forest was shattered by a series of tremendous explosions as the remainder of the munitions went up in flames.

* * *

The Spartan-II's were the greatest soldiers ever created by humanity. Living weapons, genetically engineered, physically enhanced and paired with armor that made them walking tanks, they were equal to any task. The Insurrection had plagued humanity for years. It was a civil war of a scale never seen before. The Spartan-II's were meant to put an end to the conflict. Red Team was particularly effective. If you needed something blown up, shot up or just generally destroyed, and you needed it done quickly, Red Team was perfect for the job. Made up of Blake-009, Weiss-033, Yang-069 and their leader Ruby-115, they had trained together since childhood and been forged in the crucible of warfare.

Blake-009 was an enigma, even to most of her fellow Spartan-II's. Trying to talk to her about anything but the business of fighting was generally pointless. Ask about her past or how she felt and one was likely to get nothing more than an annoyed sigh or roll of her eyes. She had reason to keep quiet. From the beginning of the Spartan-II program, a dark rumor had followed her. Apparently her parents were members of the Insurrection, the very enemy the Spartan-II's were created to fight. Being only a child at the time, she of course had no knowledge of the subject, but she was always treated differently by their instructors and even her fellow Spartans. Still, she could count on the support of her squad; at least they understood.

Weiss-033 was most notable for her size, or lack thereof. The shortest Spartan-II at just over five feet, it was a struggle to get others to take her seriously. It made her extremely driven, and eventually her skills silenced all the critics. She was also extremely intelligent, no need to be the biggest if she could outsmart her opponents. She had never gotten over not being selected for command. With her skill and smarts, she expected to be put in charge of the Spartan-II's, but that honor went to John-117. Worse, she was not even put in charge of her squad. It was a slight she would never forgive, and she would go to great lengths to prove that she deserved the position. That could cause tension at times, but she never lost sight of the fact that winning the war was far more important than who was in charge.

Yang-069 was about as laid-back as a Spartan-II could be. Most were all business, more interested in cracking skulls than cracking jokes, but Yang was different. If a Spartan-II told a joke, it was probably her, and if it was not, they probably heard it from her first. She could see the tension and pain constant battle caused and wanted to help alleviate that for herself and her comrades. She was more aware than the others that having your head in order was just as important as having your guns in order. Still, she could kill with the best of them. She was particularly interested in keeping her sister Ruby-115 safe. The two had been inseparable from the beginning, and even though Ruby was technically in command, Yang felt a strong responsibility for her.

Ruby-115 was the nominal commander of her squad. In practice they were equals, but Ruby still felt the pressure of command. Her selection had been a surprise for many. She was not the best at anything, just excellent at everything. Except for a few instances of notable selflessness and bravery, nothing made her stand out. She was also the youngest Spartan. She was technically too young, but her potential, discovered when agents were investigating Yang, was too great to pass up. So far she had silenced the doubters. Leading one of the most effective teams of Spartan-II's went a long way to proving her worth.

* * *

As bad as the Insurrection had been, in 2525 everything got much worse. A union of various alien species known as the Covenant was encountered on the planet Harvest. Peaceful contact soon collapsed into warfare as Covenant forces attempted to exterminate the human population of the planet. A large proportion of the planet's population managed to escape, but the threat was clear. It was to be a fight for the very survival of the human species, and the odds looked poor. Covenant technology far outstripped anything humans had, and they seemed to have little trouble locating and destroying human planet after human planet. Humanity's only hope was the Spartan II's.


	2. Coup de Main

Chapter 1

The Office of Naval Intelligence needed a team for a special mission. They would need to have the punch of a tank battalion, the speed of cavalry and the stealth of an assassin. Of course the job would go to Spartans, specifically Red Team. As a squad long accustomed to operating independently of other Spartans and their usual support structure, they were a natural fit. They would be going to Rand. The planet Rand had been colonized late in humanity's expansion, and by the time the Covenant was encountered it was still barely settled. When Covenant scouts were spotted nearby, the planet was entirely evacuated. As a result, it survived mostly undamaged.

The Covenant did something strange at Rand. Instead of glassing the planet to wipe away any trace of humanity, they parked their ship over the capital and sent troops to the surface. A Covenant cruiser hovered in place while its crew searched for something. What they were looking for, no one could say, but if the Covenant wanted it, humanity needed to prevent them from getting it. That's where Red Team entered the picture. The Covenant had left the planet's infrastructure mostly intact, including its orbital defense cannons. If they could be powered up, the cruiser would be a sitting duck. That could only be done from the surface. The Covenant had repurposed the power plants used to beam energy to the orbital cannons, and the power would need to be diverted back into the weapons. That was Red Team's primary objective. Meanwhile, an ONI stealth ship would wait in orbit and control the cannons once they were activated. If all that went as planned, Red Team would search for what the Covenant was after, in the process mopping up any Covenant troops remaining on the surface.

It was a dangerous mission with a questionable chance of success. Red Team would need to reach the surface undetected or else be shot down on the way. Then they would need to fight their way to the target power plant, which would no doubt be guarded by a strong Covenant force. If they got that far, the ONI ship in orbit would need to destroy the cruiser before being detected, or before it destroyed the cannons. With that done, Red Team would still face a considerable Covenant force on the surface, one likely to fight fanatically. There was also the threat of the arrival of Covenant reinforcements. It all looked very precarious, but Spartans never did care about the odds.

* * *

Red Team was loaded onto an ONI stealth ship and immediately set out for Rand. They were told little. They did not know the name of the ship or its crew, presumably for security, though it seemed a little ridiculous. They only knew the captain by the first name Frank. It was a strange first name for a woman. The ship arrived near Rand, dropping out of Slipstream Space on the far side of the system's star to avoid detection. Still silhouetted behind the star, the ship set a course that would put it in orbit around Rand without any further control inputs to avoid giving away its position.

Red Team geared up. They had been provided with special active camouflage to supplement their Mjolnir armor. When activated, it would partially drain their shields, but would also make them effectively invisible. Just before it was time to depart, Frank arrived with another surprise. "The boys at R and D gave me one of these." Frank said, holding up a device that looked similar to a Covenant plasma rifle. "Reverse engineered Covie tech, it fires plasma like theirs but it has replaceable batteries. In a pinch it can also charge off your shield." Frank went through the motions of demonstrating how to change the battery. "So, any of you ladies want it?"

"I'll give it a field trial." Blake said. She would usually appropriate a Covenant when the opportunity presented weapon anyway. Frank handed the gun to Blake. It had a similar form factor to a Covenant plasma rifle but with modifications to better fit a Spartan-sized and shaped hand. Frank handed over half a dozen batteries in a convenient pack that would magnetically attach to Mjolnir armor like standard ammunition. Frank walked out, leaving Red Team to complete their preparations.

Given the fluid nature of their mission, it was difficult for Red Team to decide which weapons would be appropriate. They decided to go with what they were most comfortable with. Ruby packed a customized sniper rifle – the bipod replaced with a long blade – and an assault rifle. Weiss armed herself with a Magnum and a DMR. Blake also selected a Magnum to go with the experimental rifle. Yang decided on subtlety, a shotgun and a rocket launcher. Given the variety of armament carried by the squad, they should be ready for anything.

* * *

Red Team's specially outfitted stealth Pelican descended slowly through the night sky. The pilot spotted a suitable landing point and put the craft down in a thickly wooded ravine. It would wait there, hidden by the foliage, until Red Team was ready to exfiltrate. The target power plant was mercifully close. Only about two kilometers of hilly and forested terrain separated Red Team from their objective. They needed to be in position near the power plant by dawn so they could attack with the sun at their backs.

They should have been able to reach the power station with plenty of time to spare, but they just made it. The terrain was much more difficult than the orbital images and maps had implied. It was a rush, but by go time they were ready. The power plant was located at the edge of the forest, in the center of a shallow valley that formed a natural bowl. Ruby found a rocky outcrop that would provide a good vantage point during the first stage of the assault. Though it was exposed, she would be difficult to see with Rand's sun directly behind her. She crawled prone to the edge and waited for the other three who had spread out along the edge of the forest. With some help from their stealth systems and the dense flora, they would be practically invisible until they launched the attack.

Ruby could see her squad mates' positions on her HUD. Yang was in the center, almost directly below Ruby's position. Blake was about fifty meters to the left and Weiss fifty to the right. "In position." Ruby radioed. "Go on my shot." Their icons blinked green on Ruby's HUD, indicating their confirmation of the order. There were Covenant positions spread all through the power plant, but the soldiers manning them, mostly Elites and Grunts, looked bored and unfocused. It made sense given that there were not supposed to be any humans on the planet, let alone humans who would be launching an attack. Ruby scanned the enemy defenses, looking for a leader. Decapitating the enemy forces at the outset would make the entire assault much easier. An Elite wearing gold armor strode across an elevated walkway that connected two buildings. He appeared to be overseeing the site. That made him a perfect target.

Ruby took aim at the Elite, exhaled, and fired. The high caliber, armor-piercing round from her rifle crashed through the Elite's head in an explosion of blood, brains and skull fragments. The bullet continued past the target and struck a parked Ghost, generating a brilliant explosion as the vehicle blew itself apart. Yang rushed out of the forest, crashed through the fence that surrounded the power plant, and drew her rocket launcher. She fired the first rocket. It sailed slowly through the air and struck a hovering platform that held a turret and its gunner, blowing the whole thing to pieces. Her second rocket was on the air before the first hit. It slammed into the station where Grunts refilled their methane breathing tanks, creating a massive explosion that vaporized a dozen nearby enemies.

An Elite in Red armor tried to rally the panicking Grunts. Ruby fired, striking the Elite in the chest. It clutched at its fractured armor as blood spurted from the wound. Ruby put the Elite out of its misery with a shot to the neck that severed its head, save for a flap of skin. The surviving Elites, all of the lowest rank, tried desperately to form up their squads. Squinting against the sun, one spotted Ruby, her position given away by the contrails left by each of her shots. It pointed, and the nearby Grunts that were not fleeing in terror turned their weapons on her. Ruby pushed herself back away from the edge as balls of plasma smacked into the stone and flew overhead. Weiss used this as a distraction. She leapt over the fence and steadily advanced on the squad, landing headshot after headshot with her DMR until they were wiped out. Another nearby Covenant squad spotted her and attacked before she could reload. Weiss drew her Magnum and efficiently eliminated each enemy.

Her attackers subdued by Weiss, Ruby was able to resume sniping. A mixed squad of Grunts and Jackals, led by a gold armored Elite, burst out of the power plant's main building. They split, half attacking Yang and the other half attempting to flank to Yang's left. Ruby shot the gold Elite in the knee and it crashed to the ground with the bottom half of its leg severed. A second shot struck it in the top of the head, the round slicing all the way through the length of its body. Yang charged the attacking Jackals and Grunts with her shotgun. The Grunts turned and fled, but she caught one in the methane tank, setting off a cascade of explosions that killed them all. A lone Jackal remained, ducked behind its shield. Yang charged into it, knocking it onto its back. She pressed her shotgun to its head and fired. Weiss was in greater difficulty. The flanking Covenant force was itself flanked, hit from the side by a hail of plasma rounds. Confused, leaderless and fearing friendly fire, they froze in the open. They made easy targets for Blake, her experimental weapon working perfectly. Finally realizing the situation, the survivors tried to flee but were picked off by Blake and Ruby.

Suddenly, the door to the power plant's loading dock exploded out in a green flash. A pair of Hunters stomped out, firing their massive cannons at anything that moved. A green bolt sizzled over Yang's head as she stood to fire. Her first rocket hid the offending Hunter in the chest, reducing it to a pile of shattered armor and orange goo. She fired her second rocket at the other Hunter but missed wide. It turned on her and charged. Yang stood her ground, waited for the Hunter to get close, and leapt over its head. The Hunter slid to a stop and turned to face her. Its cannon charged, glowing bright green. Ruby aimed carefully and fired. Her shot found a gap in the back of the Hunter's armor and scythed through its body. As orange liquid squirted out the entrance wound, the Hunter fell flat on its face. Its cannon fired straight into the ground, blowing the Hunter to pieces. The power plant was secure.

* * *

Ruby regrouped with the rest of Red Team at the entrance to the power plant's control center. Being an installation built primarily for military purposes, the control center was located in an underground bunker. Yang lead the way as they entered the dimly lit staircase that led to the bunker. In several hundred pounds of armor, there was no way to do it quietly. Their footsteps echoed loudly off the concrete walls, and every sound was amplified by the surroundings. At the bottom of the stairs, twenty meters below the surface, was a heavy metal blast door. It was open and Red Team was able to enter the bunker proper.

A long corridor led deeper into the bunker. With Yang in the lead, Ruby second, Weiss third and Blake watching the rear, Red Team carefully made its way toward the control center. About halfway there, they passed through a doorway, transitioning from the narrow corridor to an open catwalk that hung over the primary fusion reactor. The reactor made a reassuring whir, and the status lights on various parts of the apparatus all showed it to be working properly. Finally the catwalk terminated at a closed metal door. This one was locked.

Yang waved for the others to stand back. She pointed her shotgun at the door's mechanism and fired, generating a deafening metallic clang and a shower of sparks. The door stood unmoved. Yang examined the door for a moment, her body language betraying her frustration. She took a step back, then lunged into the door with her shoulder. The lock was wrenched from the door, still in place, as the door fractured from the impact. Unable to control her momentum, Yang stumbled into the control room.

Two Elites were waiting inside. They drew energy swords and charged at Yang. She ducked as the two slashed at her, their blades swiping just above her. With her shotgun she blasted one of the Elites in the chest. That Elite staggered back as his shield popped. The second Elite attempted to slash at Yang again but Ruby caught its blade with the blade on her sniper rifle. She wrenched the Elite around, positioning it in front of her gun. She fired and the shot ripped through the Elite's midsection. It let out a pained scream as Ruby grabbed it by the sword arm, twisted it around, and stabbed it in the throat with its own weapon. The first Elite recovered and lunged at Ruby. Yang grabbed the Elite by the leg and dragged it to the ground atop her. She caught its wrist as it tried to stab her, and the two struggled for control of the blade. The struggle ended with the Elite on top. Weiss rushed forward, pressed her Magnum to the side of the Elite's head and fired. The explosive round blew the top of the Elite's head off, covering the room in its brains and blue blood.

"Maybe just kick the door in next time." Weiss advised.

"I had it under control." Yang said. She did not. Her hot-headed approach had left her off balance and put her in unnecessary danger.

"We'll talk about it later." Ruby said. "Blake, reroute the power."

Blake nodded and stepped up to the control panel. She tapped in a few commands, and the reactor audibly increased its power output. The gauges read green and confirmed the orbital cannons were up and running. "Ready to fire." Blake reported with a thumbs-up. "Let's get to the Pelican."

* * *

In orbit around Rand, the ONI stealth ship detected a spike in power to the orbital cannons in Sector 1. They were ready to fire. "Upload the firing solutions." Frank ordered. The order was carried out and the cannons began to slowly rotate toward the Covenant cruiser. Unfortunately the ship had given away its position.

"Banshees inbound." One of the ONI officers warned. "The Cruiser's main gun is powering up." It would be a race to the death.

"Drop some mines and get us out of here." Frank commanded.

The cruiser won. Its main gun powered up and fired a massive blast of plasma. The boiling projectile sped toward the ONI ship and found its target. The plasma easily melted its way through the ship's thin armor and sliced it in two. Seconds later, as the ship's systems ran out of control, the reactor overloaded, resulting in a brilliant explosion the effectively vaporized the vessel.

Moments later it was the Covenant's turn. The orbital defense cannons, now in position, fired their deadly payloads. The first hit was blunted by the cruiser's shield, which flashed and popped but prevented anything more than superficial damage. A second shot from another cannon was much more destructive. It burrowed through the ship and straight into its reactor. Escaping plasma cut its way through the ship, opening up fissures that extended all the way to the surface. Finally it exploded, leaving several large chunks drifting in formation, soon to fall into and burn up in Rand's atmosphere.

* * *

Red Team made it out of the bunker in time to see a brilliant explosion that lit the sky, brighter than the sun. It was followed soon after by another. There was no time for the distraction. Covenant reinforcements were on the way and Red Team needed to be gone when they arrived. They rushed off in the direction they had come, heading for the Pelican and exfiltration. When they arrived, they found the Pelican's pilot sitting on the ground, leaning against the side of the craft. It should have been powered up and ready to fly.

"Why aren't you in the cockpit?" Weiss asked.

"The ships are down." The pilot replied with a sense of hopelessness.

"Ships?" Ruby asked.

"The Covenant cruiser and our ride." The pilot explained. "The fuckers got one shot off, and of course they blew up our fucking ride."

"Did the crew make it out?" Blake asked.

"Nope, all dead." The pilot sighed. "We're all that's left, and we're stuck here." He formed his fingers into the shape of a gun and pointed to his head. "I hope you saved a bullet for me. I'd rather blow my own brains out than wait for the Covenant to kill me."


	3. Dogfight

***Sorry for the short chapter, I've been feeling ill lately.***

Chapter 2

"I fully intend to make it off this planet alive." Ruby said. "But first, we have a mission to complete."

"Do you guys have any sense of self-preservation?" The pilot asked. There was no response. "Damn Spartans. Fine, what do you have in mind?"

"The Covenant have occupied and expanded an abandoned mining site." Weiss said. "We need to find out what they're up to."

"Once we do that, we'll steal a Covenant ship equipped with a Slipspace drive." Yang said. "All their ships, Phantoms and larger, have them."

"Until then I guess I'm your personal taxi service." The pilot sighed. "Where to first, the dig site?"

"No." Blake replied. "We need to find out more about it first. The mining company's headquarters is still intact. It may hold information vital to our mission."

"As long as it's not crawling with Covenant I'm happy to take you." The pilot said.

* * *

"You got a name flyboy?" Yang asked, leaning over the pilot to take a look at the Pelican's instruments. They seemed to be flying too fast and low for sanity's sake.

"Uh…Susan." The pilot replied.

"That's a strange name for a guy." Yang said. The instruments confirmed their suicidal speed and altitude. "I'm guessing that's a codename."

"You'll have to ask Frank, but oh wait, she's dead." The pilot grumbled.

"Well we're not, so if you don't mind, I'd like you to fly like you intend to keep it that way." Yang said. If they were under enemy fire, that would be different, but they were just flying alone.

"If you don't like my flying, take the controls." Susan said. "And in case you haven't noticed, while I would like to survive this cluster-fuck, the chances are slim to none. I'd rather die smashing into something than being tortured to death by the split-jaws." He took a hand off the controls to point. "There's your damn destination." He brought the Pelican in fast, slinging it sideways at the last moment to arrest its forward motion before touching down roughly on the roof. Any normal human would have been thrown around violently by the maneuver but Yang barely swayed.

Red Team disembarked as the Pelican's engines shut down. The rooftop groaned under the strain of the Pelican and their several hundred pounds of armor. It would hold, just. "So, our pilot?" Weiss said.

"He's skilled but reckless." Yang said. "With enough flight time he'll get us killed, but if we come under fire he's the one we want. So, what are we looking for here?"

"The mining operation was abandoned." Blake said. "We should find out why. It would also help to find maps of the site so we can get an idea of the terrain."

"How do you expect to find all that?" Ruby asked.

"I was planning to hack into the boss's computer." Blake replied. "I've got the relevant software onboard." She tapped her helmet. It did not take long to get to the top floor office they were looking for. Blake sat down at the desk and fired up the computer. She wired her armor into it and tapped at the keyboard. "And we're in." She announced. She cycled through documents, skimming as she went until she found what she was after. "There's the maps." Indicators on their HUDs confirmed the download. "I've got the relevant report. Just give me a second." Blake read through the document. "You've got to be kidding."

"What is it?" Weiss asked.

"It's the reason they abandoned the site." Blake said. "They drilled down for a while, but then they hit something they couldn't get through. It broke every drill bit they threw at it and they didn't even leave a scratch. It looked like stone but wasn't."

"That sounds like a Forerunner structure." Ruby said.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking." Blake confirmed. "Why the hell wasn't this followed up? Now the goddamn Covenant has it."

"I guess we'll just have to take it back." Ruby said.

* * *

The Pelican swept low and fast, heading for the mine. At the controls, Susan looked totally relaxed. The target was not far from the city and in minutes they could see it. The whole place was swarming with Covenant. Any hopes that the Covenant forces would be too distracted by the destruction of their cruiser to respond were dashed as a pair of Banshees rose up from the mine and made straight for the Pelican. Susan flew straight at the pair, firing the Pelican's Chaingun as they approached head-on. Bolts of plasma splattered off the Pelican's forward armor as their deadly game of chicken approached its conclusion. The Pelican won. One of the Banshees erupted in purple flames and disintegrated as it fell to the ground while the other swept around to pit itself behind the Pelican.

Susan banked and swerved in an attempt to shake the remaining Banshee but the nimble craft was easily able to keep up with the lumbering Pelican. A fuel-rod shot sizzled just wide of the Pelican as the Banshee continued to pound the craft with plasma. The Pelican's armor was strong enough to resist, but if one of the bolts hit an engine or control surface, the results would be catastrophic.

"Drop the hatch." Yang shouted to Susan as she stood in the center of the Pelican's cargo bay.

"Are you insane?" Susan shouted back.

"Just do it!" Yang yelled. An alarm blared as the Pelican opened up. The sudden increase in drag slowed it drastically and the Banshee almost slammed into the back of the ship, forcing its pilot to briefly stop firing to take evasive maneuvers. Yang dropped to a knee and steadied her rocket launcher on her shoulder. The Banshee lined back up and unleashed a hail of plasma. A few shots struck Yang and her shield flared. She pulled the trigger and a rocket leapt from her weapon. It crashed into the front of the Banshee, the explosion shredding the thin-skinned craft into a cloud of flaming debris. "Go ahead and close it up." Yang called. She returned to her seat and fastened the harness; sure their bumpy ride was just beginning.

"Nice shot." Susan said. "Hold on, they've got triple-A." The Pelican shuddered as it took a direct hit to one of its engines. It banked hard right but Susan jerked it back to level. "We can fly on one engine." He assured his passengers. The hail of fire was unrelenting as plasma filled the sky. "I think I'll have to set down some distance away. It's too hot." The ship shuddered again and then the only sound was the wind. "Well fuck." Susan tried to steer but without power it was hopeless. The Pelican listed left until it flipped over and into a dive. Susan refused to give up but only succeeded in sending the ship into a tumble. It smashed into a steep and rocky hillside, careened off and through several trees before coming to a stop on its side.

"That was unpleasant." Ruby said, suspended by her harness on what was now the ceiling. Weiss undid her harness and stood up from what was now the floor. The hatch had been sheared off in the crash and she was able to walk out. Ruby undid her harness and fell awkwardly, crushing the seat Weiss had formerly occupied. Blake stood and helped Ruby up as Yang dropped down beside her. "Somebody check on the pilot." Ruby ordered. Her HUD showed that her squad mates were in good shape, even if they were a bit sore.

Yang stood and walked to the cockpit. "Very dead." Yang reported. The cockpit had taken the brunt of the initial impact and crushed Susan. The trip through the trees had thrust branches through what was left. It was not pretty, but at least it would have been painless.

"When the Covenant gets here, we should be gone." Blake suggested. The hillside they had crashed down was mostly free of cover, so it would not be a good option even though that was the direction they needed to go. Their only reasonable course of action would be to take a detour through the forest.

"There's a wooded creek bed nearby that should provide some cover." Ruby said. "We'll head there and move after dark." They collected all the ammunition and supplies carried aboard and Ruby set the Pelican to self-destruct. All running at a full spring, Red Team put as much distance between themselves and the Pelican as quickly as they could. The Covenant would not expect there to be survivors from the crash, but they would investigate anyway and do so in force. They might even skip that part and just bombard the area with artillery. After ten minutes, the self-destruct countdown completed. The Pelican's reactor overloaded and exploded, engulfing the craft in flames and destroying anything that might interest the Covenant.

* * *

In shifts, the Spartans managed to get some rest. At nightfall, it was time to move out. "I hope they think we're dead." Weiss said as the group moved out. "It would be nice to have the element of surprise again."

"I think we gave that up when we blew their cruiser up." Yang said.

"We can attack at an unexpected time and from an unexpected direction, but they'll be on guard." Blake agreed. "Even though they shot us down, their response was pretty pathetic. Two Banshees? They were not expecting an attack or they would have had more."

"Whatever the Covenant is doing here, we're going to stop them." Ruby said. "We're still in pretty good shape. They don't know where and when we'll attack and I doubt they know they're dealing with Spartans."


End file.
